Operating mechanism for washing-machines.



No- 898,132. 'PA'I'ENTED SEPT. 8, 1908.

B. G. OTIS & W. WpGUNDR UMI OPERATING MBGHANISM FOR WASHING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 3, 1907.

l/w EN mas A TTORWE r5.

ROSWELL C. OTIS AND WILLIAM W. GUN DRUM, OF CASEY, IOWA.

OPERATING NCECHAN ISM FOR WASHING-MACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented se t. a, 1908.

Application filed m a, 1907. Serial No. 382,048.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ROSWELL C. OTIS and WILLIAM W. GUNDRUM, citizens of the United States, residing at Casey, in the county of Guthrie and State of Iowa, have invented a new and'useful Operating Mechanism for Washipgdtlachines, of which the following is a specification.

Our present invention relates to im rovements in washing machines and ana ogous devices, and it has for its object to provide an improved operatin mechanism for machines of this character wherebyjthe washing operation will be facilitated, requiring the expenditure of less 'ower to effect the washing op eration, and t to driving lever is not liable to center so that the machine may be started instantly by manipulation. of the lever.

Another object 1s to simplify and improve the operating mechanism generally so that the partsrun easily and arenot liable to become quickly'worn, and are so constructed that the mechanism may be manufactured cheaply.-

To these and other ends, the invention comprises the various novel features of construction and combination and arrangement of parts, which will be hereinafter more fully described and pointed out particularly in the ap )ended claims.

n the accompan ing drawing:-Figure l is a side elevation o a washing machine, provided with operatingmechanism constructed in accordance with the present invention, the tub being shown in section. Fig. 2 represome a section on theline 22 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a detail pcls )ective view of the suporting and guiding devices for the operating ever.

Corresponding parts in the several figures are indicated throughout by similar characters of reference.

bodying enerally a tub or rcccptncle l to rci ceive clot ies, having a bottom 2, atop 3 provided with a door or closure 4 by means of which access may be had to the tub, a shaft 5 depending from the top having an operating pinion 6 at its upper end, and a das ier or agitating head 7 suitably mounted on the side of the tub or to'any other suitable sup-.

port, the bearing bracket being so constructed that it'will permit a rocking movement ol' the lever in a plane parallel to a radius of the tub. In order to lnsure movement of tit e lever in a single plane only, and to preventits breaking, it is preferable to rovidc a guide at one side of the bracket wlnch has a slidmg engagement with the lever to prevent relative lateral movement thereof. The guide shown in the present instance comprises a yoke 11 having a pair of parallel arms 12 and 13 arranged to engage at opposite sides of the leverand to form a passage .having parallel walls between which the lever operates, the free ends of the arms being provided with laterally turned lugs 14 and 15 to tit the side. of the tub and to receive screws or other securing devices whereby the yoke may he scoured firmly in position.' The arms of the yoke preferably extend in a direction upwardly and outwardly relatively to the tub, so that, when the upper end of the operating lever is tilted farthest from lhc't oh, the guiding arms of the yoke will engage the sides of the level at points some distance from its pivotal center, so that the yoke is better able to withstand strains tending to dellect the lever laterally of its plane of movement. The n per end of the operating lever is referab y extended above the top of the to inordcr that the operator may manipulate the machine while in a standing position, a supplemental handle 16 being provided at a lower level so that the machine may be operated, if so desired, while the operator is in a sitting osition. The movements-of the operating liver are transmitted to the dasher within the tub by means of a rack 17 which is )ivotally versals thereof and the retarding effect of the clothes, and thereby insure a smooth operation of the machine with an expenditure of a small amount of power, a balancing mechanism is provided which is located between the bottom 2 of the tub and the false bottom.18,

the latter being supported in fixed relation to the tub by means of legs 19. The balancing "mechanism, in the present instance, come prises a balance whe shaft having its opposite-ends jonrnaled in bearings 21 and 22 the latter being preferably roller 'oranti-friotion bearm s, in order that the shaft may revolve rapi y without undue loss of power,

'pair of them, 25 and 26, be'

and these bearings are supported on a pair of brackets 23 and 24 which'extend between the tub and false bottoms and are bolted or otherwise secured thereto. Onthe balance wheel shaft are fixed one or more balance wheels, a em loyed in the present instance, as it ena les t e necessary balancin effect to be obtained with wheels of sma diameters and the weight is distributed between the two bearings of the shaft, and-these balance wheels are provided with counter balances '27 which reduce an unbalanced effect so that when the ap licatiori of power is discontinued, the wheel; will always stop with the weighted portions in the I lowermost position. The balance wheels are driven by a pinion 28 which cooperates with -a driving gear 29, the latter being journaled in a bearing 30 supported in the bracket 31 and is connected to the lower end of the operatinglever by means of a pitman 32 which cooperates with a crank pin 33 on the gear.

. In praqti'ce, the rocln'ng movements imparts to the o erating lever are not only transmitted to t e dasher within the tub, but

they also set the balancing mechanism into operation, the balancing mechanism serving,

in the present instance, not only to insure a smooth operation of the machine, but it also causes the operating lever to stop each time in such a position that it is capable of restarting the drivin gear, that is to say, the crank pin is not liab e to rest upon the dead center.

and the lower end of the lever, a balance wheel shaft also journaled beneath the sup- .port, a pair of balance wheels thereon weighted at one side of, their axes, a pinion on-said shaft cooperatin with the driving gear, and the supplementa handle on the operating lever between its pivot and the connection of the lever with the rotary element.

2. In a washing machine, asupport, arc- 1 tary element, an operat' an intermediate point an operatrvelycon nected to said element, a drivin' naled beneath the support and crank pin, a and the lowerend of the lever, abalance aving, a

port, a pair of balance wheels thereon weightlever pivoted. at

pitman connecting. the latter ear .jourwheel shaft also journalecl beneath thesuped at one side of their axes, and apinionon -I the said shaft cooperating with the driving v l '75 In testimony thatwe claim theioregoing as our own, we have hereto affixed our sig'na- 'tures in the presence of two witnesses.

ROSWELL o. OTIS. WILLIAM W. GUN DRUM.

' Witnesses:

HARLIE E. Smrrn, F, R. VALENTINE 

